Full moon August 2027: Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius

What time is it where you are?

The same instant falls on different dates around the world, so check the date as well as the time.

Moonrise and the highest point

A full moon rises around sunset and climbs highest around the middle of the night. These are the moonrise nearest the exact moment and the Moon's highest point after it, in local time.

Of these cities, it rides highest in São Paulo, at 80°, and lowest in London, at 29°.

Height is the angle above the horizon, where 90° would be straight overhead. A full moon near the horizon is the same size as a high one. It only looks bigger.

Why it's called the Sturgeon Moon

Named for the lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes, which were easiest to catch in late summer.

The penumbral lunar eclipse

At the peak of the eclipse, at 07:13 UTC, the Moon is above the horizon in New York, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Honolulu, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Auckland.

Eclipse visibility is checked at the peak for 20 world cities. Never look at the Sun directly, even during a partial eclipse.

The stars behind this full moon

Signs follow the seasons and constellations are patterns of stars, and the two have drifted apart over the centuries. At 24°12′ Aquarius, the Moon actually stands in front of Capricornus, the sea goat, not the constellation Aquarius is named after. The Sun, on the far side of the sky at 24°11′ Leo, is in front of Leo.

More about CapricornusWhy signs and constellations differSee the real sky at your own birth

How close is the Moon?

At 405,069 km from Earth, this is the 11th closest of the 12 full moons of 2027. It looks 0% wider than the farthest full moon of the year, on 18 July 2027, a difference that is easier to measure than to see.

Perigee, the closest point of this orbit, comes on 30 August 2027 at 15:41 UTC, 13 days after the exact full moon, at 359,195 km. Apogee, the farthest point, comes on 15 August 2027 at 406,073 km.

The planets at this full moon

Where everything else stands at the exact moment, and any major aspect each planet makes to the Moon, using the same orbs Hali uses in every chart.

The tightest contact is an opposition to Venus, 1.5° from exact. With Venus opposite the Moon, its themes tend to show up as a pull in another direction. A sextile from Saturn offers an opening that is easy to miss if you are not looking. A trine from Mars tends to make its themes easy to draw on. Saturn, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde at this moment.

Planets to look for

The bright Moon washes out faint stars, but the planets still shine through.

• Mercury is too close to the Sun to see.
• Venus is too close to the Sun to see.
• Mars is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Virgo.
• Jupiter is too close to the Sun to see.
• Saturn is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Pisces.

Eclipse season

The Moon is 12.7° from the North Node, one of the two points where its path crosses the Sun's. That is close enough for the penumbral lunar eclipse described above.

What the lunar nodes are

This lunar cycle

This full moon is the peak of the cycle that began with the new moon in Leo on 2 August 2027. The cycle ends with the new moon on 31 August 2027.

A full moon in Aquarius

With the Sun opposite in Leo, this full moon is about friends, groups and the future you are working towards. Notice where you want to fit in and where you need to stand apart.

Astrology reads full and new moons as moments for reflection, not predictions. Take what helps and leave the rest.

When the Moon is in Aquarius

Aquarius Moon days feel detached and inventive. They suit friends, group plans, new ideas and stepping back to see the bigger picture.

More about the Moon in Aquarius

The same moon in other years

• Last yearFull moon August 2026, Pisces